Permanent Exhibition in Cultural Centre Jules Pascin in Vidin

The theme of humanity, tolerance, and communication between people emerged as the central idea shaping the content of the permanent exhibition. It highlights the power of tolerant interaction from two complementary perspectives: on the one hand, through the prism of the Jewish community of Vidin, told via stories of the city itself — a centuries-old, multiethnic and multicultural Danube town; and on the other hand, through the individual, via stories from the life and work of Jules Pascin — a world-renowned Jew from Vidin.

The architectural concept is inspired by the qualities of the spaces within the cultural centre and seeks to utilise and emphasise them. The spatial narrative begins with an invitation for visitors to gather around two long tables — an invitation to communication, discovery, and shared experience. Interaction with visitors is based on the principle of “action.” Information is revealed through bending down, touching, lifting, turning, and peering inside. It is arranged in several layers in relation to the table surface — within it, on it (texts and graphics), and above it (emerging objects) — so that different media and levels interactively convey messages.

Our role was to develop the overall narrative — content-based, scenographic, and spatial — from the initial concept through all stages of the project’s implementation and process management. The sensory journey we created weaves together a rich palette of food, paintings, models, comics, films, documents, immersive sounds, first-person narratives, and many other unexpected encounters.